Adapted to a life high in the canopy, the long-tailed climbing mouse
(Vandeleuria nilagirica) has a long prehensile tail that acts as a balancing
aid, and an opposable digit on the hands and feet that is used to grasp to
branches whilst climbing. In common with other Vandeleuria climbing mice, the
fur is soft and silky, and highly variable in colour, ranging from pale, dull
brown to dark, reddish brown. The long-tailed climbing mouse is very similar in
appearance to the Asiatic long-tailed climbing mouse (V. oleracea), and
indeed was once considered a subspecies of its more widespread congener, but is
distinguished by a substantially longer tail and greyer underparts

Range Description:

This species is widespread in South Asia, Southern China and
mainland Southeast Asia. In South Asia, this species has a wide distribution in
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, occurring in elevation from 200
to 1,500 m asl (Molur et al. 2005). In China, it is limited to Western and
Southern Yunnan (Smith and Xie 2008). In Southeast Asia, the species ranges from
Myanmar in the west into Thailand(north of the Isthmus of Kra),
south-western Cambodia, possibly Lao PDR, and Northern and Southern Vietnam
(Musser and Carleton, 2005).
Countries: Native:
Bangladesh; Bhutan; Cambodia; China; India; Myanmar; Nepal; Sri Lanka;
Thailand; Vietnam

Population:

It is widespread, but never very abundant.
Population Trend: Stable

Biology:

A highly arboreal and active species, at night the long-tailed climbing mouse
runs along branches and twigs, even climbing vertical shoots, to forage for a
variety of fruits and buds Whilst feeding, this diminutive species may
loosely wind its long tail around a branch as a balancing aid, or hang from it
to reach food sources on fragile twigs. During the day the long-tailed climbing
mouse seeks shelter in tree holes or nests high up in the canopy. Pairs nest
between October and February and will descend to the ground to collect grass and
leaves to construct a shallow, oval shaped nest in the fork of a tree As is
typical of many small mice species, three or four young are born after a
gestation period of 20 to 30 days, with a life expectancy of little more than
one year.

Threats:

Occupying an area no more than 500 square kilometres, the
long-tailed climbing mouse is threatened by the loss and degradation of its
habitat Changes in forestry management, with the increasing use of
pesticides and native tree canopy species being replaced with exotics, has
resulted in forest fragmentation and gaps in the canopy. Coffee plantations have
also been felled and replaced with ginger cultivation. Consequently, many
populations of the long-tailed climbing mouse have been left isolated, greatly
increasing the species extinction risk.

Conservation Actions:

It is present in several protected areas across its
Southeast Asian range. In South Asia, it has been recorded from the Indian
protected areas of Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary, Gundla Brahmeshwaram Metta
Wildlife Sanctuary, Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve, Pocharam Wildlife
Sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh; Banneraghatta National Park in Karnataka;
Eravikulam National Park in Kerala and Sanjay Gandhi National Park in
Maharshtra. In Sri Lanka it is known from Knuckles Forest Reserve in Central
Province (Molur et al. 2005). It is listed in the Schedule V (considered as
vermin) of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. There is a need for
further research to elucidate the taxonomic status of this species complex.